INTERVIEW
CLEAR-COM - 50 YEARS OF GLORY Born out of the vibrant San Francisco music scene in the late ’60s, the founders of what would become Clear-Com created a solution for the increased live sound environments for the likes of Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin so that their crew were able to communicate clearly and effectively. 50 years since its inception, and Clear-Com has become synonymous with live events, being used by techs across the world. With such an important milestone, TPi’s Stew Hume sat down with President Bob Boster to talk shop and what lies ahead for the company…
There are few culture movements in modern history that can eclipse that of the Summer of Love in the late ‘60s; an age of revolution and music that has withstood the test of time. However, among the musical innovation and generational angst, there was a serious issue facing the crews of the day; namely the increased decibels of live shows rendering communication between departments almost impossible. At the time, technicians were still utilising carbon-type headsets that were used by phone operators of the time - less than ideal for sending cues at a live rock ‘n’ roll show. There was this clear gap in the market that Clear-Com’s original founders, Bob Cohen and Charlie Butten who worked to create the first distributed & amplified comms system. Fast forward 50 years and the company certainly has expanded from its humble rock ‘n’ roll beginnings, being used in all categories of live events and even further afield in broadcast, military applications and even aerospace. “Well the company certainly has grown from its beginnings in the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco,” began Clear-Com President Bob Boster. “Along with our main HQ in Alameda Island across San Francisco Bay, we have locations all over the world including Cambridge in the UK, Montreal, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore. One of my main responsibilities is to check in with each of our bases to make sure everyone is rowing in the same direction.” At time of writing, Boster had worked with Clear-Com for 12 years although he explained his history with the brand dates back much further. “I first came across the company when I was very young, around
8 or 9 after getting involved with community theatre. I remember sitting up in the lighting desk back then and being amazed I could still have a conversation with the stage manager!” After graduating college, Boster cut his teeth in the radio sector. He explained: “My career took me all over the world but I found myself back in San Francisco. While looking for my next move, I remembered that Clear-Com were based in the city!” Boster worked his way through the ranks of the business, eventually rising to his current position. The President continued by explaining what he believed were some of Clear-Com’s recent landmark innovations. “I usually cite 2 main innovations. The first is our work in wireless technology, more specifically our FreeSpeak II Wireless Intercom System. Currently there are a lot of constraints using wireless with the shrinking usable RF spectrum. Although these created a challenge for customers, we saw it as an opportunity. It’s not enough to just build a tool that meets the requirements of the marketplace. We have delivered products that are highly usable and can be handed to an end user without any explanation. That familiarity of workflow and the fact it works reliably for them in the new RF Frequencies is the stand we always look for.” The second innovation that Boster was particularly keen to highlight was Clear-Com’s development of IP. “Our work on this side of our products has really changed the nature of Clear-Com’s business. One example has been our HelixNet Partyline. Incredibly familiar to any previous user of our 114